In just a few days I will hand the reins of the Department of Mathematics to the experienced hands of my colleague Joel Hass. Joel has served as department chair for 4 years (2010-2014). Through a number of leadership functions on campus he also acquired deep knowledge of all aspects of the university organization. I am very grateful he agreed to step back into the department chair role for 2026-27.
It is with deep sadness that we report the passing of Joshua Sumpter, who obtained his Ph.D. from our Department under the direction of Sasha Soshnikov in 2021. Josh is remembered by his fellow graduate students for his inquiring mind, and as a conscientious teaching assistant and promising colleague by his professors. He had gone on to a postdoc at the University of Rochester. He is survived by his wife, Erica.
Josh’s memorial service was May 16 at 11 am with a celebration of life to follow at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Cloverdale, CA.
This year our Department once again took part in Picnic Day at UC Davis, bringing a mix of math, creativity, and hands-on fun to visitors of all ages. Our booth drew a steady crowd throughout the day, with families, students, and curious guests stopping by to explore.
Gentle reader, you are reading the second issue of our new quarterly newsletter! As you may have noticed, the format of our newsletter has changed. We have retired our annual printed newsletter and hope you are enjoying our new digital quarterly newsletter. We encourage you to comment and make suggestions, especially since we are still working on the format of the digital newsletter and eager to improve.
We mourn the passing of our colleague Craig Tracy.
Craig Tracy was an American mathematician known for his contributions to mathematical physics and probability theory. Born in 1945 in England to a British mother and an American father, Craig was raised on a farm in Missouri. After obtaining a B.Sc. in Physics from University of Missouri (1967), he studied at Stony Brook University, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Physics with the thesis Spin-Spin Scale-Functions in the Ising and XY-Models (1973), advised by Barry M. McCoy.
You are reading the first issue of our new quarterly newsletter! We felt the need to communicate with you a bit more frequently. So much happens in a year! The pace of news about Department members and their accomplishments, changes in the ways of doing math (both research and teaching) have accelerated as institutions of higher education are attempting to keep up. We will make room for more and more frequent news from you, dear readers, alumni and friends of Mathematics.
Roger J-B Wets was a Distinguished Research Professor of Mathematics at UC Davis, who passed away in April 2025. He was well regarded as an inspiring mathematician and described by his students as an amazing mentor. He guided nineteen students to their Ph.D. and developed a Mathematical Finance course for our Department. Collaborators talk of both his brilliance at research, but also his kindness, good humor, and thoughtful personality.
On April 9, 2025, the Department of Mathematics in collaboration with the Department of Theatre and Dance and the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis hosted the play "Diving into Math with Emmy Noether." Wyatt Pavilion Theater was packed with faculty, students and staff from all over campus. The play complemented classroom learning by showing the struggles Emmy Noether faced during her life and the context in which her mathematics was created.
I recently completed my Ph.D. in Mathematics at Georgia Tech, where I was advised by Jen Hom. My research focuses on problems in low-dimensional topology, primarily from the perspective of knot Floer homology and bordered Heegaard Floer homology. At UC Davis, I look forward to working with Melissa Zhang and broadening my approach by exploring new tools for studying knots and links in 3- and 4-manifolds.
I joined the UC Davis Department of Mathematics in July 2025 as an Assistant Professor. My research focuses on fluid dynamics and partial differential equations, combining both analysis and computational approaches. Previously, I was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of California Berkeley. I received my Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of California Santa Cruz in 2023.
